by Jessica Snow
Hubba, hubba. That distracted her so much that she stopped eating for almost a minute. But eventually, her appetite asserted itself again.
The more they talked, the more at ease Kat became with Liam. His personality seemed firm, yet gentle. Serious, yet with a dry, gentle sense of humor. He was the type of person she felt she could reveal her innermost secrets to. No wonder she had already admitted her anger problems.
“So how about we do this again sometime?” Kat asked when Liam was almost finished with his fourth plate of meat.
Liam grew still, his jaw freezing in mid-chew, and she blinked at him worriedly. Oh hell, Kat, you’ve gone and done it now.
He slowly finished chewing before speaking. “Kat, there’s something I have to tell you...and it’s kind of complicated.”
She braced herself. Shit. Well, it was fun while it lasted. Here we go...
“I’m sort of in a relationship...”
...I knew it.
Though Liam was still talking, the sound of his voice faded into the background. Why had she deluded herself into thinking that he could have been a single man? Just because he had told her she looked cute and paid her some attention at a club? Liam was beyond handsome and probably had hundreds of girls lined up to have sex with him, and Kat was a fool to ever think she would be at all special to him. Why would he want me, when he could practically any girl he wanted?
He saw her muscles tense and held up a hand. “Kat wait!”
“At least you told me before anything happened.” She grabbed her purse and jumped up from the table. “Thanks for the meal.”
He started getting up. “Kat, don’t go. Please. I can explain—”
She spun around and rushed out of the building, but not before stopping at the food bar and stuffing several chunks of raw meat into her mouth. Surprisingly, it tasted even better than the cooked meat.
She had almost reached her car in the dark parking lot when she heard swift running feet and strong hands grabbing her from behind. Damn, he’s fast as hell.
She struggled fiercely, but could not budge against his strong grasp. “Let me go!” Where the hell was her super strength when she needed it?
He turned her around insistently, but then his grip on her tightened. “Kat, listen to me,” Liam breathed into her face. His breath stank of meat, but to Kat, it still smelled good. “What’s going on with me is like really complicated, and I don’t know if you would believe anything if I told you. And believe me, if I could, I would date you, but I... I don’t get to date who I want!”
“What are you talking about? I didn’t see a ring on your finger. Did you hide it so you could play around?” She stared back at him defiantly.
“No.” He sighed. “It’s not like that. It’s more like...an arranged marriage.”
She blinked at him. He saw that she was intrigued enough to stop and listen and let her go. She stayed where she was, staring at him. “It’s not legal in this country to force a marriage on someone.”
He laughed humorlessly. “Tell that to my father. I have a prior engagement that I must uphold if I want to please my family and... others.” He looked ready to spit suddenly. “I’ve tried to get out of it for over a year. But I can’t, no matter how much I want to.”
Kat glared into his eyes, which had the usual gold specks circling around in them. “Then why the hell did you grind on me at that club, and agree to take me out to dinner, if you had all this crap going on with you?” And why the hell would you go to a club anyway?
The answer was simple; because he was a man whore. Another “player”, another fuckboy, playing head games with women to get sex because he didn’t like the relationship he was stuck in. She felt her anger rise dangerously inside of her again.
Liam lowered his head. “Because I was hoping that I...”
“That you?” The sorrow and apology in his tone made her pause.
Liam shook his head and looked back into her eyes. “That I could get to know you.” He swallowed, casting his eyes around as if looking for the right words on the ground around them. “I just wanted to have a woman in my life that I actually wanted to be with.”
It didn’t make any sense. What was the point?
Kat turned towards her car. “Well sorry, Liam, I have no interest in being a side bitch that you boink for your personal amusement.” Even if you are as hot as a caramel fudge sundae. “I deserve the whole deal, not just whatever scraps a cheating husband decides to throw me.” She started walking.
“Kat, wait!”
Kat ignored him. She reached her car and fumbled out her keys.
A note of desperation entered Liam’s voice. “I have something you need!”
Kat paused with her keys in the door, half-turning to appraise the hunk with a suspicious eye. “What?” she asked harshly.
Liam flashed his pearly whites that looked extra sharp under the moonlight, happy he had gotten her attention. “A job.”
She hesitated. It was a ploy to keep her close and be able to keep seeing her, and she knew it. But he had her number: coming home with a new job would be a lot better than dealing with the problems not having one would cause with, and for, her family.
Finally, she turned back to him further, and folded her arms, lifting her chin as he approached. “I’m listening.”
It was late when Kat finally got home and she found her dad lounging in his recliner, wide awake.
“Kenzie said you wanted to speak with me?” Big Mike asked. As usual, he had his feet propped up, but this time there was no beer bottle lying nearby. Instead, he had Rosie perched comfortably in his lap as he affectionately petted her head.
Kat sat her purse down on the couch. “Yeah, where were you?”
“I had some things I needed to take care of. I did not know it would make me run late.”
“Oh, okay.” She lifted an eyebrow. “You didn’t catch the meat sale then?”
He let out a laugh. “Don’t sound so disappointed! Of course, I hit the damn meat sale, I know what day it is. Besides, the freezer was empty.” He lifted an eyebrow at her. “You getting more of a taste for meat these days?”
“You could say that, yeah.”
He stared at her, noting her nice dress. She could tell he was curious about where she had been, but she would not tell him if he asked. “So, what’s the problem? Kenzie told me there was trouble at work.”
She took a deep breath. “I got fired.”
Alarmed, her father sat up in his chair. “Why? That’s not good Kat. You know I need help with paying the rent—”
“Don’t freak out until you hear the whole story.” Kat smiled, heading towards the kitchen. She was still damn hungry, and as much as she didn’t want to cut into Dad’s stock, she needed a snack. Anyway, soon, a meat shortage would no longer be a problem. “Seriously, don’t worry, dad. Everything is alright.”
Her father relaxed at her calm tone, coming to lean against the door frame. “And why is that?”
I’m sure he’s going to love to hear this.
Placing her hands on her hips, Kat turned in the doorway and proclaimed, “Because I got a new job at a meat-packing company.” The corner of her mouth curled up. “Half again the pay, no more working overtime for free, and they send me home with samples every week.”
His bushy eyebrows headed toward his hairline. “Well damn, girl! That is good news!”
Chapter 12
Standing on a balcony overlooking the Greyson factory floor, Liam watched Kat work over several pounds of meat with her new co-workers. She was so beautiful. Her long, flowing hair shone through the net that covered it, and her full-figured body could not be hidden by the homely uniform she now wore. Her curves strained the fabric across her rump, hips, and breasts, turning a plain jumpsuit and apron into something erotic. He could not get enough and kept coming out to stare at her on his frequent breaks from his office.
He wanted so badly to take her off into the woods and show her what her curves did to him..
.in the most carnal ways possible. It frustrated him that he couldn’t. His family’s pact with Crystal’s clan bound him. If he didn’t stick to it, he understood now that his father would quite literally kill him.
If he could somehow get out of the arrangement and get to know Kat...and make her his mate...he would leap at the chance. But time was running out; it was only a few weeks to the full moon and the conception of a cub who would bind him and Crystal together more irrevocably than his father’s threats ever could. Liam found it unlikely that his fantasy had a chance of coming true.
Besides not knowing if Kat would ever trust him since she believed he was a cheater, he was sure Kat would have no desire to be his mate because being his mate also meant becoming a wolf. It was no small thing, going from being a human to a shifter. Often, when people made the transition from natural to the supernatural, they were unable to handle their belief systems being shattered right before their eyes.
Since ages bygone, vampires and wolves stayed hidden from human society, but slowly, over time, wolves became more integrated with humans, while vampires remained hidden under the cloak of darkness. When humans discovered their existence, they often lost their faith in religion and reality. And those humans that were turned found it hard to accept their new existence. Some became outcasts. Others, who sought to tell the world about these unnatural creatures, were killed to protect the secret.
Even those who kept to the rules were in for a hard road. They had to give up everything—family, friends—to protect the pack’s secrets. And transformed werewolves were often treated as lesser by those born into the pack. Many transformed wolves simply lost their minds eventually, if they weren’t killed before that. He couldn’t risk doing that to Kat.
Liam was old enough to know his burning lust for Kat was not love, but he was also sure that given enough time, it could definitely turn into love. On the other hand, he did not love Crystal in any form. And to make matters worse, he did not desire her either. Why would it be so bad to take someone he at least wanted to have passionate sex with as his mate? At least there would be a guarantee of cubs.
But he knew the answer. Because my dad will kill me...
A part of him wanted to defy his father and mother, the consequences of his actions be damned. There was something about Kat...something special. It wasn’t just her curves, or her strong but agreeable personality. Liam could not quite put his finger on it.
But what he did want, was to put his fingers on was her large breasts. He wanted to suck on her nipples, stroke her body, give her pleasures that she had likely long gone without in the hands of that...idiot, Kevin. Let me show you what it can be like, he thought feverishly as he stared down at Kat. His pants became tighter as a tingling heat settled in his groin.
Slowly, he pressed himself against the rail of the balcony, gently rubbing his cock against it, imagining unveiling her breasts and placing his face in between them. He grew feverish in seconds, the urge to mate clouding his thoughts. His mind was assailed by images of Kat’s voluptuous body, and a fire burning in his loins, Liam threw his head back and let out a deep groan.
“What are you doing?”
Letting out a silent gasp, Liam jumped with surprise and became unbalanced against the rail. Using his quick reflexes, he swiftly steadied himself and spun around to confront the unwanted intruder.
“Crystal, what are you doing here?” He felt more than slightly annoyed and angry at himself for being snuck up on. Being a shifter, he had superb hearing and could hear a leaf drop from several miles away in the forest. But that did not matter when Crystal was around. She had a way of sneaking up on him that irritated him endlessly.
Crystal smiled mischievously at him, her gaunt face looking sickly and that same mad light burning in her eyes. Dressed in dark jeans and a light blouse both of which hung on her, she looked spidery and strange to him. His hard-on died down in seconds.
“I got the rest of the day off from work at the ranch, so I came by to see you.” She glanced at the rail and back to Liam suspiciously. “It almost looked like you were dry humping that thing.”
Liam blushed and let out an uncomfortable cough into his palm. “I was stretching.”
“Sure you were.” Crystal leaned forward and balanced herself on her toes to peck him on the lips. She had eaten deer recently. She must have stopped and had a quick bite to eat in the forest before coming to the Greyson factory. Liam could smell the meat on her breath. At least it isn’t human this time.
“I was,” he insisted.
“Mmmhmm.” Crystal stepped to the balcony and looked over the side. She appeared to still have no memory of the violence they had done to each other several nights back. She had told Liam over the phone that all she could remember was one moment preparing for the hunt, and the next waking up with her brother Zack by her side. He watched her calmly—and then tensed as she cocked her head and her eyes narrowed. “Who the hell’s this?”
Irritation flared through Liam’s chest. “She’s a new Greyson employee,” he replied tersely.
Raising a freshly-plucked eyebrow, Crystal asked, “Hired by your father?”
“No. By me.” Together they watched Kat calmly and efficiently splitting a side of beef down to packageable parts, the knife flashing in her hand. “She was the best-qualified person I could find to fill the position.”
Crystal frowned as she stared down at Kat with disapproval. “What clan of shifters is she from?”
He shrugged. “She is a human.”
Her jaw dropped open, and Crystal’s eyes went wide. “Liam, surely you know better than to have a human working at this factory around a bunch of wolves. If there’s ever a confrontation, they might tear her to shreds.” She paused, her eyes studying the workers down below. “What does your father have to say about this?”
“I haven’t told him. He leaves supervisory decisions to me.” Being the son of the head of the company, Liam had the right to hire and fire whoever he chose, but firings happened rarely. All employees at the Greyson factory werewolves and knew the importance of pack loyalty.
“Well, you should get his advice on this one, because I think it’s a disaster waiting to happen.”
He snorted. “Since when do you care about the welfare of humans?”
“I don’t. They’re just a particularly intelligent prey animal to me.” She sniffed. “But if something happens to her, she’s on the damn payroll and her employment is a matter of public record. You would end up with human cops crawling all over this place in an investigation that could cost us all big.” Then she lowered her breath and muttered, “Not only that. Look at her, she’s the size of a dump truck. With someone like her working here, I don’t think there will be much meat left to feed the wolves, let alone make the company money.”
“It will be fine,” said Liam in even tones, while quietly imagining twisting her head off to repay the insult to Kat. “Anyway, she works faster than anyone else on her shift.” He watched Kat split the beef ribs into racks with a few chops and a hard yank of her strong arms. Flawless: she was a natural.
Crystal watched for a few seconds, then turned to face him. “Well, I don’t approve, and neither, I’m sure, would your father.”
He looked away from her, anger boiling in his gut. “My father has other things to worry about.”
Crystal smiled. “Like the upcoming full moon, perhaps?”
Looking at the pleasure in her emaciated face, Liam held back a groan. With the mating ritual fast approaching, he had been trying his best not to think about what he had to do. It was like watching his life pass him by with someone else driving.
“My mother is very excited, but not more than my father,” Crystal breathed, her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. “He says it will be a boy.”
Liam scratched the back of his neck. “Don’t you think we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves?”
“No.” Crystal stepped forward and placed a hand against his hard abs. “In fact, I came
here so we could get a little head start for our special night.”
This time, Liam did groan, but Crystal mistook it as one of pleasure. Her hand crept lower, down to his crotch, slowly caressing. His skin crawled.
She was almost breathless as she spoke. “Just think, Liam, our union shall be very fruitful, and will only help solidify our positions. With our powerful families united, we shall rule supreme over the lesser clans of wolves in this region. With full access to my family’s lands, the Greyson Company shall reach heights of success undreamed of. When your father passes on the reins to you, you, Liam, shall be the most wealthy and powerful wolf in this part of the world!”
Though power was a seductive temptation, Liam had no use for it if it did not allow him the simple pleasures he so desired. He glanced over the railing again, at the solid, laboring figure below. Thoughts of Kat sent a fire through his body and he felt himself hardening in Crystal’s grip.
Egged on by his bulging erection, Crystal took him by the arm. “Come, let’s satisfy the fire that is lighting your loins. It needs to be exorcised before our special night.”
Ugh, no, not with you. “Crystal, I think I should wait so I can have more seed built up—”
She would hear no excuses. “Nonsense, you are a big, strapping man.” She glanced down at the large tent in his pants. “There is no shortage of semen in that large sack of yours.”
The corner of his mouth twitched in disgust. You’re so romantic. Not.
She pulled him away from the ledge and Kat’s voluptuous figure disappeared from his view. “Come...so you can enjoy the many fruits my body has to offer.”
If it were not for his predicament, Liam would have laughed in Crystal’s face at the irony of her statement. Fucking her was like fucking a deranged coat rack with violent tendencies. But he kept thinking of that terrifying moment that he had blacked out with his father’s hand around his throat, and let her take over.
She began leading him away from the balcony and his one true desire. As they made their way to his office where she would undoubtedly coerce him into fucking her again, Liam found that only thoughts of Kat could keep his revulsion at bay.